American Gymnast Blog

Andy's COP evaluates the 2008 Olympic Uneven Bars Final!

Oct 29

Written by: Andy Thornton
Thursday, October 29, 2009 2:56 PM

Our first routines under Andy’s COP: Women’s Uneven Bars

So who really won the 2008 Olympic uneven bars gold medal? Let’s see what my scoring system has to say about it!

Nastia Liukin Bars 2008 Olympics Event Finals

Value Parts

(5)

Element Groups

(5)

Difficulty

(10)

Execution

(10)

Artistry

(10)

Originality

(5)

Virtuosity

(5)

Total Points

Final Score

5

5

10

9

9

4

4

46.0

9.2

He Kexin Bars 2008 Olympics Event Finals

Yang Yilin Bars 2008 Olympics Event Finals

Steliana Nistor Bars 2008 Olympics Event Finals

Beth Tweddle Bars 2008 Olympics Event Finals

Anastasia Koval Bars 2008 Olympics Event Finals

Dariya Zgoba Bars 2008 Olympics Event Finals

Ksenia Semenova Bars 2008 Olympics Event Finals

So under my scoring system (if I had been judging at least!) the results of the 2008 Olympic Uneven Bars Final would have been:

1. He Kexin 9.3

2. Nastia Liukin 9.2

3. Yang Yilin 9.0

4. Beth Tweddle 8.9

5. Ksenia Semenova 8.7

6. Anastasia Koval 8.5

7. Dariya Zgoba 8.3

8. Steliana Nistor 7.7

The coolest part is that I entered every single score based on my first impression and didn’t change a single one…and I completely agree with the results! Despite many U.S. fans, I did think He Kexin was a little better than Nastia Liukin. I think Yang Yilin and Beth Tweddle should have been next, followed by Semenova and Koval. Notice that Zgoba ended up ahead of Nistor, even though she fell and Nistor didn’t. I actually feel this is appropriate, considering how much more beautiful, difficult, and original Zgoba’s routine was. Amazingly, my scoring system agrees!

Let’s look at each category to give you a better idea what I was looking for:

Difficulty

Notice that all of these gymnasts had plenty of difficulty to achieve the 10 points on this event under my system, but remember that these are some of the best bar workers of all time, and not every gymnast can easily get the 10 points. Remember that D’s are worth 1 point, E’s are worth 2, F’s are worth 3, and G’s are worth 4. Also, some events will be more difficult than others to get the 10 points (women’s floor is a bit harder).

Execution

Remember this a general impression from 1-10, with increments of 0.5. All of these routines were executed very well and ranged from 8 to 9.5. I gave Yang Yilin the highest (9.5) and Zgoba the lowest (6.5), but remember that Zgoba lost 2 points for falling. The rest was beautiful. (Notice that 2 points is equivalent to 0.4 on the final score). Liukin and He Kexin both had 9’s because of just a couple of small errors from each.

Artistry

The artistry scores were based on overall beauty of the routine, including body line and fluidity. I gave Nastia the highest with a 9 (the cowboyed dismount and feet separations took away slightly from the beauty), while I gave Tweddle and Semenova 7’s in this category – still strong but some room for improvement. Koval and Zgoba were beautiful to watch and had great lines, so I gave them both 8’s. I thought Nistor was the least “artistic” of the group (although it wasn’t bad), and thus I gave her a 6 out of 10.

Originality

I thought Tweddle’s routine was about as original as it gets with her super cool release combinations (and the first one out of an Ono) and her own skill (toe-on Tcatchev to mixed grip) and so I gave her the full 5 out of 5 in this category. You could easily argue that He Kexin should have gotten a 5 in originality (Yaeger half turn to Yaeger, laid-out Yaeger, invert combinations), but I gave her a 4.5 because I thought Tweddle’s was just slightly more original. Semenova’s originality included her in-bar combinations, the Tcatchev to immediate full pirouette, the Deltchev, and the piked double Arabian dismount (also a 4.5). Liukin and Zgoba were next with 4’s. I thought Nistor’s was the least original, although certainly not a zero because of her multiple release moves and the 1 ½ turn at the beginning…so I gave her a 2 out of 5.

Virtuosity

Here I was looking for amplitude on releases and dismounts, incredible flexibility, and overall “risk” taken, such as with multiple release skills. He Kexin received the highest virtuosity score (4.5) because of her incredible height on the Yaeger-half turn, the big laid-out Yaeger, and the Tcatchev to Pak salto. If the dismount had been a bit bigger I would have given her a 5. Nastia scored a little lower than He Kexin here because, although her Gienger is high and she had amazing flexibility, her low Tcatchev must be reflected in this category...so I gave her a Semenova had good height and turnover on the Tcatchev and a high Yaeger and Deltchev. Zgoba had incredible flexibility in both her stalder and invert work, but I would have liked to see another release skill, so I gave her a 3. I thought Koval and Nistor had the least “virtuosity,” but still gave both a 2.5 out of 5 – Koval for her flexibility and good toe-on piked Tcatchev, and Nistor for the risk she took doing so many release skills.

I think the system worked here! Tell me what you think.

Next, I’ll apply the system to an event on the men’s side…using the high bar routines from the recent world championships. Will Zou Kai still be the champion?

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10 comments so far...

Re: Andy's COP evaluates the 2008 Olympic Uneven Bars Final!

Andy, Super cool. I have yet to get through all the commentary you provide, but will be doing so. Loved seeing all the routines and your scores on them. Will you be doing the same for the other women's events from Beijing? (I personally think that would rock, but I know it's also time-consuming.) Very interested to see what your system will have to say on the '09 high bar finals. I was not happy with the outcome there... I'm a women's fan so don't watch a lot of men's, but I remember one of the Asian guys with incredibly sloppy form was scored very highly, which I didn't appreciate. So it'll be interesting to see what your system says.

By Megan on Thursday, October 29, 2009 4:04 PM

Re: Andy's COP evaluates the 2008 Olympic Uneven Bars Final!

Nastia's execution is horrible. Did you actually watch the routine without biased US eyes? You call her missing handstands and those giants great execution? Leg separations mean she isn't doing her cast to handstands and pirouettes correctly either. That dismount in itself is a messy debacle.

How does Nastia and He have the same difficulty score? and the fact you gave them all ten's pretty much makes my point.

Yang Yilin was the rightful winner that night and I don't get how anyone can see anything differently. Nastia was lucky to medal with those giants into the dismount because if the judges were deducting correctly that would leave her off any UB podium

By please on Thursday, October 29, 2009 7:47 PM

Re: Andy's COP evaluates the 2008 Olympic Uneven Bars Final!

All of the gymnasts here DO have 10's in difficulty according to my system, which awards 1 point for every D, 2 points for every E, 3 for every F, and 4 for every G. Although they don't all have the exact same amount of difficulty, they all reach the 10-point "cap" and are thus given a 10. Please see my original COP or my explanation I give above in the difficulty section.

As for Yang Yilin, she outscored both Nastia and He Kexin in the execution, but I felt Nastia and He Kexin both had slightly more originality and virtuosity, and this is why their final scores were higher.

By Andy on Thursday, October 29, 2009 8:03 PM

Re: Andy's COP evaluates the 2008 Olympic Uneven Bars Final!

Yang's kips and LB-HB transition should bring her down to a 9 or even 8.5 in execution.

By Viola on Friday, October 30, 2009 7:29 PM

YYL's gold

YYL's was Not the most original but definitely the most artistic, your 8.5 artistic points to her is just incomprenhensible. You can't be serious giving the highest artistry mark to Nastia with that dismount. Yang Yilin was the cass act under the current code the old code and your code too.

I can't believe she got robbed AGAIN.

She was the rightful winner and nothing will change that.

By mr solis on Saturday, October 31, 2009 4:01 AM

Re: Andy's COP evaluates the 2008 Olympic Uneven Bars Final!

its a good code but it seems to much opinionated and judge will argue over what they believe

By john on Sunday, November 01, 2009 8:32 PM

Re: Andy's COP evaluates the 2008 Olympic Uneven Bars Final!

I can't believe you gave Nastia an execution score of 9.0! Nistor was the only finalist with worst form and more built-in deductions. And we all know how bad is that!
Off the top of my head: leg separations on all of her inverted giants, bent legs on all of her giants, low Tkatchev, missed handstand on the low bar (that should have been a 0.5+ deduction under the real CoP) and don't let me started on the dismount! I'm surprised you didn't make her win!
Not sure your code is working (although I do appreciate some of your points).

By Ian on Sunday, November 01, 2009 9:15 PM

Re: Andy's COP evaluates the 2008 Olympic Uneven Bars Final!

i will take nastia liukin's slightly bent legs on her giants over yang yilin's and he kexin's labored kips any day. it was a very exciting final nonetheless. the only thing is i don't think there should have been a tie-breaker, they should have just given out two golds.

By alexandrite105 on Friday, November 06, 2009 11:59 AM

Re: Andy's COP evaluates the 2008 Olympic Uneven Bars Final!

There is no such thing as Nastia's slightly bent anything. This is where your bias is clearly showing.

Slightly bent? I am sorry that is grossly understated. I suggest you watch it again. They were more then slightly bent. They were a huge mess.
I know Nastia is the golden child but some of her fans need to learn about the sport

By What? on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 5:43 PM

Re: Andy's COP evaluates the 2008 Olympic Uneven Bars Final!

i am not an "ignorant fan". i have followed the sport for 15 years and i know what i'm talking about. if to you her legs are more than slightly bent, then fine. if i look at it again in real time and slow motion and decide that they are more than slightly bent, i will still prefer her over the labored kips and cast handstands of yang yilin and he kexin. you missed the whole point of what i was saying, which was exactly that, that regardless of both faults or errors, i prefer hers over theirs.

By alexandrite105 on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 10:41 PM

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